Larry Hama Comic Book Collection

Larry Hama (1949-) is an influential comic book writer and artist. Born in Manhattan and raised in Queens, New York, Hama is a third-generation Japanese American. He attended Manhattan’s High School of Art and Design, and from 1969 to 1971, served in the US Army in Vietnam. His experiences in Vietnam influenced much of his creative work. After his discharge, Hama worked as an assistant to comic writer and artist Wally Wood at Entertaining Comics (EC), and became a member of Basement Workshop, a grassroots arts activist organization in Manhattan’s Chinatown. After leaving EC, Hama joined comic book and commercial artist Neal Adams’ Continuity Associates studio, where he created Bucky O’ Hare, a comic character that later went on to have a television cartoon series, a video game, and a toy line. In 1977, Hama became an editor at DC Comics, and in 1980, he joined Marvel Comics. There, he edited acclaimed titles such as Conan and The ‘Nam and began writing stories for G.I. Joe.

While G.I. Joe was originally conceived as a short-term marketing vehicle for the Hasbro line of military action figures, Hama’s storylines, complex characters, and attention to detail helped G.I. Joe become an unexpected hit. Hama has also made significant contributions as a writer and artist to The Nth Man: the Ultimate Ninja, Wolverine, Daredevil, The Punisher War Zone, Moon Knight, Before the Fantastic Four: Ben Grimm and Logan, Savage Tales, Generation X, and Batman. In addition to his work in comics, Hama is also an actor and musician.

The Larry Hama Comic Book Collection contains comic books, clippings, drawings, draft materials for television shows, designs for advertising, magazine illustrations, and storyboards for television shows and commercials.

To learn more about the contents of the Larry Hama Comic Book Collection, located at the NYU Fales Library & Special Collections, view the collection’s finding aid.

Image credit: A collage of the covers of Wolverine (108), December 1996; Wolverine (56), July 1992; Wolverine (33), November 1990; Larry Hama Comic Book Collection; MSS.337; Box: 4, Folder: 21; Box: 4, Folder: 14; Box: 4, Folder: 9; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University Libraries.